Osun election: 30 CPs, 15,000 police operatives deployed for Saturday poll

Nigeria Police Force has deployed 30 Commissioners of Police and more than 15,000 personnel for Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists in Osogbo on the security arrangements for the poll.

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Iniedu said the deployment began three weeks before the election, with a Deputy Inspector-General of Police assigned to coordinate the overall security operation across the state.

He said police authorities had also deployed aerial surveillance assets, including a helicopter and drone units, to monitor developments before, during and immediately after the election.

“We have deployed armed mobile policemen to every local government area in the state. So, we have 30 units across 30 local government areas. A unit is about 60 policemen,” Iniedu said.

According to him, each of the 30 local government areas would have a Police Mobile Force unit, while two additional units would be stationed at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Osogbo.

He explained that each local government area would also have a Commissioner of Police and a Deputy Commissioner of Police, alongside Mobile Police commanders.

“We also have two units of armed mobile policemen attached to the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters in Osogbo here,” he said.

The police spokesperson added that the commanders stationed across the local governments would coordinate the security personnel deployed to their respective areas.

“As of today (Thursday), our helicopters and drone units have arrived in Osogbo, and they will be conducting area surveillance from now, during and immediately after the elections,” Iniedu said.

He further disclosed that the military would restrict movement through roads linking Osun State with neighbouring states from midnight on Saturday as part of measures to prevent the movement of criminal elements during the election.

“We will be locking down the state. We will not be allowing any vehicular movement apart from those on essential duty, security duties and those going to cast their franchise,” he said.

Iniedu urged parents and guardians to caution young people against engaging in electoral offences, including intimidation, stalking, vote-buying and ballot-box snatching.

He also disclosed that a mobile court would be available to prosecute persons arrested for electoral offences during the election.

On efforts to recover illegal weapons ahead of the poll, the police spokesperson said the command had so far recovered about 34 firearms in Osun State, although investigations into the seizures were still ongoing.

“We don’t have specific details about the guns we have mopped up, but I know that in Osun State, so far, we have mopped up about 34 illegal firearms, and investigations are ongoing,” he said.

The police deployment comes as Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Alliance, APC, and African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate, Najeem Salaam, enter the race for the Osun governorship seat.

Meanwhile, several police personnel deployed for the election were seen at the Osun State Police Command headquarters in Osogbo, preparing to move to their respective areas of assignment.